CSD Research

The Center for Shelter Dogs supports its mission with an active research program concentrated in several areas, including:

Development of validated methods to screen for, evaluate, and treat behavior problems in shelter dogs, thereby increasing their chances for adoption

Exploration of canine personality and how best to match a shelter dog to a home

Identification of the role of environmental and emotional stress on the behavior of shelter dogs and methods of reducing the impact of such stressors

Investigation of perceptions and attitudes of potential adopters toward shelter dogs and problematic behavior of dogs, in order to examine which characteristics are preferred and by which adopter segments as well as which behaviors hinder adoption and which do not